Passive air sampling of flame retardants and plasticizers in Canadian homes using PDMS, XAD-coated PDMS and PUF samplers

Joseph O Okeme; Congqiao Yang; Atousa Abdollahi; Suman Dhal; Shelley A Harris; Liisa M Jantunen; Dina Tsirlin; Miriam L Diamond

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.103

Passive air sampling of flame retardants and plasticizers in Canadian homes using PDMS, XAD-coated PDMS and PUF samplers

Environ Pollut. 2018 Aug:239:109-117. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.103. Epub 2018 Apr 10.

Authors

Joseph O Okeme¹, Congqiao Yang², Atousa Abdollahi³, Suman Dhal², Shelley A Harris⁴, Liisa M Jantunen⁵, Dina Tsirlin⁶, Miriam L Diamond⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada.
² Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B1, Canada.
³ Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B1, Canada; Air Quality Processes Research Section, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON, M3H 5T4, Canada.
⁴ Prevention and Cancer Control, Cancer Care Ontario, 620 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 2L7, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M7, Canada; Occupational Cancer Research Centre, Cancer Care Ontario, 525 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 2L3, Canada.
⁵ Air Quality Processes Research Section, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 6248 Eighth Line Egbert, ON, L0L 1N0, Canada; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B1, Canada.
⁶ Prevention and Cancer Control, Cancer Care Ontario, 620 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 2L7, Canada.
⁷ Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B1, Canada; Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M7, Canada. Electronic address: miriam.diamond@utoronto.ca.

PMID: 29649757
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.103

Abstract

Passive air samplers (PAS) were evaluated for measuring indoor concentrations of phthalates, novel brominated flame retardants (N-BFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and organophosphate esters (OPEs). Sampling rates were obtained from a 50-day calibration study for two newly introduced PAS, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) or silicone rubber PAS (one with and one without a coating of styrene divinyl benzene co-polymer, XAD) and the commonly used polyurethane foam (PUF) PAS. Average sampling rates normalized to PAS surface area were 1.5 ± 1.1 m³ day^-1 dm^-2 for both unsheltered PDMS and XAD-PDMS, and 0.90 m³ ± 0.6 day^-1dm^-2 for partially sheltered PUF. These values were derived based on the compound-specific sampling rates measured here and in the literature for the PAS tested, to reasonably account for site-specific variability of sampling rates. PDMS and PUF were co-deployed for three weeks in 51 homes located in Ottawa and Toronto, Canada. Duplicate PUF and PDMS samplers gave concentrations within 10% of each other. PDMS and PUF-derived air concentrations were not statistically different for gas-phase compounds. PUF had a higher detection of particle-phase compounds such as some OPEs. Phthalate and OPE air concentrations were ∼100 times higher than those of N-BFRs and PBDEs. Concentrations were not systematically related to PM₁₀, temperature or relative humidity. We conclude that both PAS provide replicable estimates of indoor concentrations of these targeted semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) over a three-week deployment period. However, PUF is advantageous for collecting a wider range of compounds including those in the particle phase.

Keywords: Calibration; Flame-retardants; PDMS; PUF; Passive sampling; Phthalates; XAD-PDMS.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Air Pollution, Indoor / analysis*
Calibration
Canada
Dimethylpolysiloxanes / chemistry
Environmental Monitoring / instrumentation
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Flame Retardants / analysis*
Housing / standards
Plasticizers / analysis*
Polystyrenes / chemistry
Polyurethanes / chemistry
Silicone Elastomers / chemistry
Volatile Organic Compounds / analysis*

Substances

Air Pollutants
Dimethylpolysiloxanes
Flame Retardants
Plasticizers
Polystyrenes
Polyurethanes
Silicone Elastomers
Volatile Organic Compounds
baysilon
polyurethane foam
Amberlite XAD-2 resin